The Chris Miller Recovery Fund

Hello everyone, we would like to let everyone know about Chris and Monica's story as to why this fundraiser has been started. Here is a couple of paragraphs written by both Chris and Monica about how their journey has gone over the last number of years.

Here is Chris' story:

Almost 15 years ago I met a woman who I would fall in love with and married. Dating for us would be interesting because we both had children from previous relationships. We wanted to make sure we were protecting our kids from another bad relationship, so we waited to make sure we clicked before meeting each others’ families. From the beginning she made very clear that her son was her life. Unfortunately, he had an illness. He was born with Alport syndrome. A degenerative kidney disease. It not only affects your kidneys it robs you of your sight and hearing. That being said I knew I wanted to make a life together with them. It's been a few years now and I've had the absolute pleasure of watching him become a wonderful young man and brother to my boys who I love like he was my own. He's kind, caring, funny and an inspiration to me because of positive attitude through all his adversity. Most people don't know he has this disease because he doesn’t like talking about. Unfortunately, his kidney function has declined now to the point where he needs a transplant. After his mom tried to donate her kidney and was told she couldn't, I volunteered. After many blood tests and all kinds of exams I'm a match to him. Sometimes things are meant to be. Maybe this was part of the reason why we met. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to give him this opportunity. I hope it allows him to live the life he deserves. There is a long road ahead for both of us. My recovery will be relatively quick compared to his. He has a lot of tests ahead and a stay in hospital, but I know he'll come out on top. I'm not the kind of person who asks for help but I'm always willing to lend a hand. Again, I'm not asking for myself. This surgery isn't just about me. Any help that we could get from the people in our lives would be greatly appreciated. I can't begin to explain the outpouring of support I've already gotten. Thank you for any support and the well wishes. I am eternally grateful and truly humbled.

Here is Monica's story:

We're pretty private people, none of us are major sharers or social media users.

We also don't ask for anything really, other than maybe some suggestions.

But that needs to change.

We are going to expose ourselves and the things we've been going through, and we will also be asking for any help you can give.

For those of you that don't know, our son Brendan has kidney issues. Although I suppose that's putting it lightly because he's at dialysis 3 times a week for 4 hours each time. He's also working, so he will go to dialysis before work, and then finish his day at work.

If you don't know, that's not super pleasant for him as he doesn't feel amazing after treatment.

At this point he is in need of a donated kidney, and Chris Miller is a match and has offered Brendan that gift. For that to happen though, they will both need time off from work for the surgeries. Unfortunately we can't afford that time off at less than our wages as I will also need time off, so this is where the request for help comes in: if you are able to donate anything it would be an amazing gift.

My son is my inspiration, his attitude is uplifting. Whenever someone asks how he is dealing with this, he basically says it's not a big deal and that other people have it worse. He has bad days of course, as we all do, but he doesn't let it bring him down. I have drawn strength from that myself as this has not been ; it has been a bit of a whirl wind for the past 18 months.

We thank everyone in advance for any little bit they can share, and we really do believe every prayer, good thought, or positive vibes sent our way also help, so thank you to everyone who has already sent them our way, and to those who will in future.

❤️❤️